Real carry traders, this includes the major banks on Wall Street, will hold their positions for months, sometimes even years, at a time. The cornerstone of the carry trade strategy is to get paid while you wait, so waiting is actually a good thing.
Partly due to the demand for carry trades, trends in the currency market are strong and directional. This is important for short-term traders as well because, in a currency pair where the interest rate differential is very significant, it may be far more profitable to look for opportunities to buy on dips in the direction of the carry than to try to fade it.












